Hip-Swaying Dancing Doll Ridicules Saddam

Ha!

-that's all I can say.

Former Cancer Patient Debuts Video Game

This is cool. The Make A Wish foundation asked this kid what he wanted, and instead of asking for something like a week at Disneyland or a cruise in the Bahamas he asked that a video game be made for cancer patients. He met with Eric Johnson (of "Loom" and "Monkey Island" fame) once a week for six months and developed a game that "is now a staple in the children's chemotherapy ward."

Apple - QuickTime - WWDC 2004

Video of Steve Jobs' WWDC Keynote speech.

Apple - Mac OS X - Tiger Preview

Apple's sneak preview of OS X 10.4

I want it... but I'm waiting until I can get it on a PowerBook G5 with Finale 2005 (none of those three essentials is out just yet).

Apple Previews Next Version of Mac OS X

Another article about the WWDC OS X 10.4 preview.

Jobs Unveils Mac Operating System Upgrade

Mas OS X 10.4 - Wow.

Iraq Sovereignty Comes Early

What's this? A serious political news item in my blog?

Anyway, this link goes to a picture of a note Condoleezza Rice sent to President Bush. Paul Bremer symbolically left Iraq two days earlier than originally planned, apparently in a attempt to stave off "celebration terrorism" from local insurgents.

So now we get to see how a newly-formed democracy works. We haven't been able to do this in quite a long time!

Spider-Man Backers Spin Huge Money Web with Sequel

I'm getting more excited every day about 'Spider-Man 2.' I've read several reviews, and I'll be seeing it as soon as I can after it comes out on Wednesday.

Film Review: Spider-Man 2

It's coming out a week from yesterday! This review makes me want to see it even more.

Can't wait to see what Danny Elfman has done with the score, either.

Surf while you surf

This just makes me laugh. How many people need a computer in their SURFBOARD?!?

And even though "it has a wi-fi antenna for access to the Web," how on earth are they going to get a base station or a hotspot close enough to the waves to make it at all useful?

State Route 56 To Finally Open By Summer's End

Finally! This freeway has been sitting there, unfinished, for (according to Mayor Murphy) over twenty years, but this summer it will finally be done!

I wonder if this has anything to do with the Indian casino bill that Schwarzenegger just signed. It is supposed to bring the state $1 billion this year, and the Governor said that it would all be used on transportation projects.

School Foils Cheats by Blocking Phone Signals

Intriguing experiment - Italian devices which scramble cell phones during exams, so that eCheating (yes, I made that word up) is not possible. They're even thinking of having the devices installed in schoolrooms permanently.

Private Rocket Plane Makes Historic Space Flight

Awesome - the first commercial space flight. Since the flight-tester was merely a civilian and not a government-trained serious astronaut, he describes his trip with the "amazing" feat of spilling a bag of M&Ms in a weightless environment. Pretty sophomoric, but SpaceShipOne is still a great scientific feat.

Now the builders have their sights set on the X Prize - $10 million for the first team to send TWO manned flights, less than 2 weeks apart, the 62 miles straight up it takes to get outside of the Earth's atmosphere.

Viacom Looks to Advertise in Video Games

Now this looks interesting... advertising within video games. And, apparently, not just logos of the game developers that show up every time you start the game.

Due to the decreased TV watching of young males, advertisers are seeking a new way to get into their heads to peddle their products. Though it seems like a crackpot idea at first, it just might work... or it might turn guys off to video games, too. Or at least the ones with advertising content. If this is going to work, it must appear in ALL video games, or the ones with blatant ads will not get any play-time.

Film Review: Dodgeball

Even though this review says the movie is not as good as it could have been, given its subject matter and rife opportunities for satire, I still think I'm going to go see it. Come on... Rip Torn throwing wrenches at people? Who wouldn't pay to see that?

Kid Castings End 'Chocolate' Rush

So it seems they're making another movie of Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." I hope they get somebody as great as Gene Wilder to play Wonka... I can't really see anybody else doing as well as he did, though.

Film Review: The Terminal

This looks like it'll be a very interesting movie! The trailer looks great (I've seen it twice, both times before showings of 'Shrek 2'), and I'm looking forward to seeing the film after it comes out on the 18th.

While I'm on the topic, other films I'm looking forward to are:
Dodgeball (6/18/04)
Spider-Man 2 (6/30/04)
I, Robot (7/16/04)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (6/3/05)

Play in a Top Orchestra, Virtually

This article describes a new software product, developed in Oz (Australia), that allows musicians to play their instruments into the computer and perform with top orchestras. It appears to be in a video-game sort of format, but it gives feedback regarding intonation, rhythmic accuracy, etc. Looks like fun, and a great application of newly-available technology.

Though I was involved in a much more school-related application of this sort of technology in a project in the very recent past, this particular piece of software is in no way related to the software I recently helped to develop.

Soul 'Genius' Ray Charles Spanned Musical Genres

Ray Charles died yesterday due to complications from liver disease. He was a great musician who wrote and played hundreds of great songs, and he will be missed.

1000 Blank White Cards

This game looks HILARIOUS! I'd love to try it sometime if I can pull a few wacky people together.

Computer Use a Boost to Young Minds, Study Finds

This is a very interesting study... it finds that young children who are exposed to a computer generally are much more prepared for school and have better fine motor skills.

They admit the study is not all-encompassing or exceedingly precise, but their findings make plenty of sense to me. The flip side is that *no* benefit exists in having video games in the home. This isn't very surprising either...

Microsoft gains double-clicking patent

Oh my... you have to read this article to believe it.

Swedish Researchers Build Cardboard Piano

Not quite as much cardboard as you'd think -- but still pretty impressive in my book. It seems as though it's really a high-tech electronic keyboard encased in a cardboard exterior. "It sounds almost like the real thing," the head of the development team says, but digital reproductions of acoustic instruments are still quite a long way off from sounding with the properties of real-live instruments.

"Cheaper -- and lighter" seem to be the biggest features, but it's not a consumer item just yet. I don't think it would be a replacement for a full piano, but it's at least an interesting concept.

New Worm Exploits Multiple Windows Flaws

New worm - be on the lookout for Microsoft's June security bulletins, and hopefully a patch to fix this vulnerability.

That is, if you're using Windows. Though my home computer currently runs XP Pro, I am definitely waiting around to buy one of Apple's G5 PowerBooks with OS X 10.4 after they come out.

Dot-Travel? Dot-Xxx? New Internet Domains Weighed

So it seems that there might be some new high-level Internet domains out there. This would be a good thing, especially for easy blocking of sites you don't want to see, or ads you don't want to display.

However, who's going to get the webmasters to change their domains? There are so many (for example) porn sites on the Web that moving them all from .com, .net, etc. to .xxx would be either a) prohibitively expensive or b) impossible to regulate.

It's a great idea in theory, but how feasible would it be in real life?

Opera CEO: Browser Ready for Its Next Act

Great interview with the CEO of Opera Software ASA.